Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires New Holdings in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 12,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $754,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Helen of Troy by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 484 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Helen of Troy in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Helen of Troy by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Helen of Troy by 73.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Helen of Troy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $150,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HELE shares. StockNews.com raised Helen of Troy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $79.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Helen of Troy from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th.

Helen of Troy Stock Performance

HELE opened at $53.66 on Tuesday. Helen of Troy Limited has a 12-month low of $48.05 and a 12-month high of $126.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $530.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.91 million. Helen of Troy had a net margin of 6.05% and a return on equity of 9.13%. Helen of Troy’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Helen of Troy Limited will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Helen of Troy Profile

Helen of Troy Limited provides various consumer products in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates in two segments: Home & Outdoor and Beauty & Wellness. The Home & Outdoor segment offers food storage containers, kitchen utensils for cooking and preparing salads, fruits, vegetables and meats, graters, slicers and choppers, baking essentials, kitchen organization, bath, cleaning, infant and toddler products, and coffee preparation tools and electronics; and insulated beverageware, including bottles, travel tumblers, drinkware, mugs, food and lunch containers, insulated totes, soft coolers, outdoor kitchenware, and accessories.